Safety-clutch for elevators.



R. C. BAKER.

SAFETY CLUTCH FOR ELEVATORS.

APPLICATION FlLED Auazis. 1915 1,2035%. Patented Oct. 31,1916.

if I [I Witnesses Inventor R Attorneys UNITED sTATEsATEnT oEEioE.

REUBEN C. BAKER, OF COALIN GA, CALIFORNIA.-

SAFETY-CLUTCH FOR ELEVATORS.

Application filed August 28, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, REUBEN C. BAKER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Coalinga, in the county ofFresno and State of California, have invented a new and usefulSafety-Clutch for Elevators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a safety clutch for use in connection withelevators, one of the objects of the invention being to provide a meanswhereby in the event of the breakage of the hoisting cable of anelevator, gripping members will be automatically thrust into engagementwith guide rails at the sides of the path of the car or cage, and willgrip said rails tightly, the pressure increasing in proportion to-theweight to which the members are subjected, so that there is nopossibility of the car falling in the event of such breakage.

A further object is to provide means whereby each clutch is thrownpositively into engagement with the guide rail.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within thescope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings Figure 1 is a view partly in elevation and partly insection of the upper portion of an elevator cage and showing the partsconstituting the present invention in position thereon. Fig. 2 is asection on line A-B Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line C-DFig. 1.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates aportion of an elevator cage and 2 designates guide rails at oppositesides of the cage. Mounted on the top of the cage and adjacent each ofthe guide rails are opposed upwardly converging deflecting strips 2fastened to the cage in any suitable manner and secured together attheir upper ends, as shown for example at 3. Interposed between eachpair of deflecting strips 2 are opposed clutch mem- Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

Serial No. 47,859.

bers or shoes l the outer faces of which are recessed, as at 5 so as tostraddle the rails 2, as shown. The inner or adjoining faces of theclutch members or shoes 4 are preferably parallel and toothed, while theouter faces are inclined and parallel with the defleeting strips 2.Secured to the members or shoes at are holding plates 6 which looselyengage the outer sides of the strips 2 as shown in Fig. 2, thus to holdthe shoes or clutch members 4: loosely against the inner sides of thestrips 2. The inner plates 6 upon each pair of shoes or clutch members 4are pivotally connected to the outer end of a lever 7 fulcrumed as at 8upon the top of the ca e The two levers 7 are extended toward each otherand are pivotally connected at their inner ends, as shown at 9, theseends being also connected to a bolt 10 extending upwardly therefrom andsecured to the hoisting cable 11. A bracket 12 is secured upon the cage1 and constitutes a guide for the bolt 10 and also an abutment for aspring 13 which is coiled about the bolt 10 and bears downwardly againsta collar 1d secured to the bolt. This spring may be housed in a casing15 if desired.

It will be obvious that as long as the cage is being supported by thecable 11,the spring 13 will be held under compression between the collar14 and the bracket or abutment 15, and the shoes 1 will be presseddownwardly against the top of the cage thus to be held out of contactwith the rails 2. If, however, the cable 11 should break, the springs 13will promptly expand, thereby thrusting downwardly against the collar14: and actuating the two levers 7. These levers will thrust upwardlyupon the plates 6 and cause the shoes or clutch members 4 to rideupwardly along the inner faces of the strips 2. These deflecting strips2 will cause the shoes to become wedged between them and the rails 2with the result that the frictional engagement between the rails and theshoes will be suiiicient to support the cage and prevent it fromdescending. Obviously the greater the weight of the cage the more firmlywill be the gripping action by the shoes l upon the rails 2.

Importance is attached to the fact that the apparatus constituting thepresent invention can be applied readily to cages already in use anddoes not ordinarily reguide rail, the shoes 'lbeing readily arranged toengage any kind of guide rail at the sides of the cage.

What is claimed is p The combination with an elevator cage and guiderails, opposed upwardly converging deflecting strips secured upon thecage at each side thereof, opposed clutch members between the strips ofeach pair, said clutch members having their active faces recessed tostraddle a guide rail, holding devices secured to each of the clutchmembers and slidably engaging the outer sides of the deflecting strips,a pivot device connecting certain of the holding devices upon the clutchmembers of each pair, oppositely extending levers fulcrumed upon thecage and connected, at theirouter ends, to the respective pivot devices,a hoisting cable connected. to the inner ends of the levers, and meansfor moving said inner ends downwardly automatica-lly should the cablebreak.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have heretoaffixed. my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

REUBEN o. BAKER \Vitnesses P. M. .HARwooD, ARTHUR V. WEBB.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

